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A. M. WALLACE.

RIDING SADDLE.

No. 333,491. Patented Dec. 29,1885.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED M. WALLACE, OF GLOBE, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

RIDING-SADDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,491, dated December 29, 1885. Application filed October 8, 1885. Serial No.179,283. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED M. WALLAOE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Globe, in the county of Gila and Territory of Arizona, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Saddles, of which the following is a specification, referencev being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in saddles; and it consists in forming the tree in two portions, one above the other, the lower portion resting upon the horses back and the upper forming the seat supporting the rider, and connected to the lower portion by a spring at its front end.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of my improved saddle, a portion of the leather being removed to more clearly show the construction. Fig.- 2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 is a detail showing modified form of spring.

Similar letters indicate like parts.

A is a tree, which may be of the ordinary and Well-known forms, or, in fact, any form that will rest safely and securely upon the back of the animal to be ridden, and it is provided with the usual leather skirts, B.

O is the second part of the tree, which is formed separate from the lower portion, A, It is also provided with skirts D, between which and the skirts E the stirrup-leathers and such other straps as may be necessary or desirable are placed.

The tree 0 is supported bya coiled or other suitable spring, E, which is connected to its front end and secured to the tree A, a few inches above which the seat is suspended thereby. The spring E, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is fixed in a line with the pummel of the tree; but this is not necessary to the successful operation of my device, and for the purpose of obtaining greater resiliency, or for greater convenience of construction, the spring may be carried backward and secured at some point underneath the seat 0, as indicated at E in Fig. 3. The spring itself may also take other specific forms than those shown, the principle of my invention, which is to flexibly support the seat at its forward end only, being retained.

As indicated at F, the spring is detachable. This will be found advantageous in many instances, as when it is desired to construct the portion 0 and the spring of different materials, or it becomes necessary to replace a broken spring; but I contemplate forming the tree 0 and spring in one piece whenever such construction may prove advantageous.

My improved saddle is designed to render long and rough journeys less fatiguing to both man and beast than when the saddles of the ordinary description are used; but as the yielding feature may, under some circumstances, be undesirable, I provide a simple cat-ch and fastener, G G, attached, respectively, to the upper and lower portions of the tree, so that when desired I can depress the seat portion to its lowest possible point, and then, by means of the catch referred to, secure it in that position, converting it while in that condition into a saddle not differing in any essential particular from those in common use.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A saddle having a tree resting upon the back of the animal, a tree separated therefrom and raised from said first-mentioned tree and forming a seat for the rider, and a spring attached to the front end of the seat portion and resting upon the said lower portion of the said trees and constituting the sole connection between them, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the tree A, resting upon the horses back, of the seat-tree O and a spring, E, secured to and uniting both of said trees and supporting the tree 0 at its front end only, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the tree A, resting upon the horses back, of the tree 0, constituting the seat for the rider, and the spring E, detachably secured to the front end of both trees A and O, and adapted to flexibly support the tree 0 in the desired position and at its front en 1 only, as set forth. 1

4. The combination, with the fixed tree A, of a saddle-seat, G, and spring E, attached to the front end of said seat and supporting it by its front end only, and latching devices extending between the free end of the saddleseat and the fixed tree, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED M. WALLACE.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. EPLEY, ALFRED HAUSTEIN. 

